Improvement in street-railroad-rail fasteners



E. I. HOUSTON & E. THOMSON. STREET-RAILWAY RAIL-FASTENER.

No.177,1Z4. Patented May 9,1876.

7 I Z'Zneww: 1,72 wen 20m .PETERS, PHOTO-LITNOGRAF'NER, WASHINGTON. D C.

UNI ED STATES PATENT OFFICE..-

' EDWIN J. HOUSTON AND ELIHU THOMSON, on PHILADELPHIA, PA.

I IMPROVEMENTIN STREET-RA-IL'ROAD-RAIL FASTENERS.

' Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 177, 124', dated May 9, 1876; application tiled,

October 18,1875.

To all whom tt, may concern":

Be it known that we, EDWIN J. HOUSTON and ELIHU THOMSON, both of the city of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, have invented certainnew-and useful Improvements in the Construction and Mode of Fastening Street- Railway Rails, of which improvements the following is believed to be a true and accurate description.

The object of our invention is to provide lieve these advantages are secured, is substantially'as follows, viz The application of a selflockin g device, clamp, or clutch, so applied to a railway-rail as to secure it firmly to the stringer. The clutch A B, Fig. 1, consists of a plate or bar, bent at one extremity, A, into a hook, and pierced, as at B, so as to allow its being fastened to the stringer or road-bedby spiking or otherwise, as at S, Fig. 1, where!) represents the stringer.

The application of the clutch to theordinary rail is shown in Fig. 1, where O is a crosssection of the rail; 1), a recess, or b b a projection or projections, which receive the hooked extremity of the clamp or clutch A B.

Fig.2 represents a modification of the clamp or clutch, in which the hooked extremity A, Fig. 1, is replaced by a lateral projection or projections, O 0, Fig. 2, applied to the rail, as before stated.

The above-described clamp or clutch is applied tothe rail by placing the ben t extremityA, Fig. 1, or C 0, Fig. 2, in theinclined recess b,Fig. 1, or on the projections 12 I), Fig. 1, or d d, Fig. 2, provided therefor. It is then firmly secured by driving a spike or spikes through the openings provided therefor, as shown at S, Fig. 1. To save expense the spike and clutch may be formed in one piece, as shown at A B, Fig. 3.

It is evident that the clutch or clamp applied to the rail in the manner hereinbefore stated forms an efficient self-locking device.

It is a matter of indifference as to which por= tion of the length ofthcrailthe clutch is a plied. The end fastenings, however, may be united into a single clutch, asshownin Fig. 4, where O and F, the two extreniities'of the rails, are firmly secured by the combined clutch A B, Fig. 4, as described.

ing.

In the application of our clutch to rails com: posed of two or more detached sections, as in Fig.5, where G represents the head, and F F the flange or bed-plate, the under part of the head is provided with a projection or toe, T, fitting into a suitable Opening in the lower plate F F. In Fig. 6 the plate F F is shown, in plan, where V represents .the opening for the toe T, Fig. 5. The toe is preferably inclined or bent so as to allow of its ready in- Y sertion 'into the plate, as at K, Fig. 5, but, when seated, affording, with the clamp A B, a secure attachment of both head and flange plate to the stringer D.

In Fig. 6, L is a recess formed in the back of the plate F F for the. insertion of that portion' 7 represents a reversible sectional rail, where G is the head, and F F the flange-plate. The toe T is inserted into the opening V, formed .so that when'reversed it, V, occupies the position, and serves the purpose, of the spikehole W, while W now forms the opening for the insertion of the toe, as shown by dotted lines X. When the entire upper surface of the rail is in a single piece the above-mentioned too is replaced by a hook, E, Fig. 8, formed by bending the edge of the rail 0 so as to catch under the lower bed-plate, as shown at E, Fig. Fig. 8. The bed-plate E is spiked or otherwise fastened to the stringer D.

We claim This, arrangement gives stiffness to the joint, and prevents bump- The extremity of the- 1. The clutch of clamp A B, provided witha hook, A, tl1c openings B, (oneor more,) for the introduction of the spike or bolt, and the projections R, applied in the manner set forth in the accompanying specification.

t 2. As a fastening; for a sectional rail with a detached upper part or head, theproj'ection' or toe T, formed on the base of the head, the recess or opening V in theflange-platc- F F, for

the iiisertion of the toe, substantially as de- Scribed in the foregoing specification;

3. The combination of the toe T,the opening V, and the clamporclntch AB, as aiseen re' fasteningfor theseveral parts of sectional rails;

4. Asa. fastening for a sectional rail, in which the entire upper surface consists of a single piece the combination of thecluteh or claam-p A B with the hook H as set forth i'n'the toriegoing specification. i

5'. In a sectional'reversihle mil, the eomhi- 1i 'i nation of the toe T and ti e interchangeable spike-holes V W, to be used in the manner forthepurposede'seri-bed. i

6. In a sectional reversible mihthe combi- 1 nation ot' the toe T and i the interchangeable spikeholes V W with the clamp or clutch A. i B, substantially as set forth. I

EDWIN J. HOUSTON. I t 3 p ELIHU THOMSQNL Witnesses: 7 i Y Rom. GRIMSHAW,

ANGELO MILLER. 

